Blackberry plant named &#39;Sleeping Beauty&#39;

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of blackberry plant named ‘Sleeping Beauty’. The new cultivar is distinguished from other blackberry cultivars by its large fruit, low chill requirement, and long fruiting period. The new cultivar is distinguished from its pollen parent by having an earlier fruiting period and much lower chill requirement. The new cultivar is distinguished from its seed parent by having firmer and less acidic fruit.

1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a new cultivar of blackberry called ‘Sleeping Beauty’. The new cultivar was developed from hybridization of the unpatented female cultivar ‘Brazos’ with the unpatented male cultivar ‘Hull Thornless’. The parents were crossed in Spring 1991 whereafter fruit and seed were collected to produce seedlings for field planting in Watsonville, Calif. in 1992. The new cultivar was selected in 1994 for its early fruiting period and large fruit size. The cultivar has been asexually propagated, and reproduced true to type plants by in vitro shoot tip culture.

2. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention provides a new and distinct blackberry cultivar named ‘Sleeping Beauty’. The variety is botanically identified as Rubus L. subgenus Rubus. The new cultivar produces a floricane crop which begins in mid-May and continues until mid-August. The new blackberry variety is distinguished from other varieties by a number of characteristics as set forth in Table 1. In particular, the new cultivar is distinguished by its large fruit, low chill requirement and long fruiting period. Yield of the new cultivar is moderate to high when compared to many other varieties.

3. COMPARISON TO SIMILAR VARIETIES

[0003] The variety that we believe to be similar to ‘Sleeping Beauty’ from those known to us is ‘Brazos’, an unpatented variety. ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is particularly different from ‘Brazos’ by having firmer, less acidic fruit and by being slightly smaller in size.

4. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] The accompanying photographs show typical specimens of the fruit, leaves and shoot of the new cultivar, in color as nearly true as reasonably possible in color illustrations of this type.

[0005]FIG. 1 is a photograph showing a primocane shoot, mature leaf and stem of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

[0006]FIG. 2 is a photograph showing a close-up view of a primocane shoot, mature leaf and stem of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

[0007]FIG. 3 is a photograph showing the flowering and fruiting laterals of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.

5. DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW VARIETY

[0008] The following detailed description of the new blackberry cultivar, ‘Sleeping Beauty’, is based upon recorded observations of plants and fruit grown between 1996 and 2000 in Watsonville, Calif., and is believed to apply to plants of the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ cultivar grown in similar conditions of soil and climate elsewhere. This description is in accordance with terminology used by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Throughout this specification, color names beginning with a small letter signify that the name of the color, as used in common speech, is aptly descriptive. Color data beginning with a capital letter and followed by an alphanumeric code indicate the most similar color designations as provided by The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart published by The Royal Horticultural Society of London, England. Color designations, color descriptions, and other phenotypical descriptions may deviate from the stated values and descriptions depending upon variation in environmental, seasonal, climatic and cultural conditions.

5.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW VARIETY

[0009] Table 1 provides information on the plant and fruit characteristics of the new blackberry cultivar ‘Sleeping Beauty’ compared with characteristics of the unpatented blackberry cultivars ‘Olallie’ and ‘Chester’. Both ‘Olallie’ and ‘Chester’ are currently important cultivars for fresh market shipping, and thus are comparable to the proposed use of the new invention, ‘Sleeping Beauty’. Observations of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Olallie’ and ‘Chester’ were taken in side-by-side comparison in 1999 and 2000.

[0010] The new blackberry cultivar is particularly characterized and distinguished from other cultivars by its low chill requirement and its long fruiting cycle. Canes of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ are vigorous and thorny.

[0011] The fruit color of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is black with moderate amount of post harvest drupelet color reversion. The fruit is large with a slightly tart flavor. Postharvest fruit rot resistance is average in comparisons with many selections and varieties.

[0012] ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is distinguished from its pollen parent, ‘Hull Thornless’, by being thorny, having a more upright growth habit, and having larger fruit. Additionally, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ has a much lower chill requirement and an earlier season than its pollen parent ‘Hull Thornless’. ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is distinguished from its seed parent, ‘Brazos’, by having firmer and less acidic fruit. TABLE 1 PLANT CHARACTERISTICS OF ‘SLEEPING BEAUTY’ Sleeping Beauty Olallie Chester GENERAL Vigor high Moderate - high high Growth habit upright trailing semi-upright Productivity moderately high high high Self fruitfulness yes yes yes Number of young many medium medium shoots CANES Primocanes Anthocyanin absent present present coloration Spines present present absent color green purple — attitude of tip horizontal to horizontal — downward texture rigid heavy — presence and present; present; absent distribution irregularly irregularly on petioles distributed distributed density in central third medium medium — of shoot Internodal distance 3.3 2.6 3.1 (cm) - central third of mature cane Glaucosity on full absent or very weak weak grown shoot weak Strength of full strong medium strong grown shoot Cane cross section angular to rounded to angular to grooved angular grooved LEAVES Relief between veins weak medium medium Number of leaflets usually 5 usually 3 usually 5 Leaf color medium medium light upper side 139A 137A, 137B 147A underside 137C 147B 146A Glossiness of upper glossy medium dull surface Leaf cross section concave concave-flat concave Terminal leaflet length (cm) 9.5 8.9 11.1 width (cm) 6.5 7.6 9 shape ovate cordate cordate tip acuminate acuminate acuminate base rounded cordate cordate margin double serrate double serrate double serrate Lateral leaflet overlap of lateral touching overlapping overlapping leaflets length (cm) 9.1 8.7 10.2 width (cm) 5.4 6.1 7.1 shape ovate ovate ovate tip acute acuminate acute base acute acute acute margin double serrate double serrate serrate Petiole mean length (cm) 6.8 5.3 7.9 range 5.6-7.8 3.6-8.7 3.9-10.2 pigmentation of upper purplish red green - slightly purple surface pink pigmentation of some red, green - slightly green - pinkish underside mostly green pink Length of stalklet short very short medium Rachis length (cm) 2.9 2.8 3.1 between terminal and adjacent lateral leaflets) Stipule orientation erect variable; erect clasping to erect FLOWERS Time of bud burst early early late Time of beginning early early late of flowering Flower size large small to small to medium medium Petal size length (mm) 20.1 16.5 18.3 width (mm) 16.5 11.7 10.9 Anthocyanin color absent absent present of pedicel Intensity of pedicel — — weak coloration Length of pedicel medium-long long short Flower number (third 7.6 3.6 2 node from tip of lateral) FRUIT Harvest season early to mid early mid to late Dimensions 5.1 5.2 3.2 weight (g/fruit) size medium medium small length (cm) 2.4 3.3 1.9 width (cm) 1.7 1.4 1.9 Fruiting lateral length medium-long medium medium - long (in mid cane) mean number of fruit 9.1 6.2 22.8 per lateral range 4-18 3-9 17-40 Shape elliptic narrow ovate round to ovate longer than much longer as long as broad than broad broad Color black purple-black to black black immature 187B 178A-183B 184A maturing 200A 187A 200A-202A mature 202A 200A 202A Firmness medium medium firm Glossiness medium strong medium - medium strong Soluble solids 10.2 9.7 9.9 Titratable acidity 10.2 13.3 9.9 (% as citric acid) (ml of added 0.1 N NaOH to pH 8.1) Number of drupelets 94 86 40 per fruit

5.2 NUCLEIC ACID FINGERPRINTING

[0013] Distinctive patterns of polymorphism can be detected using a variety of nucleic acid analysis methods. In one non-limiting example, molecular genetic maps can be produced using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (Williams et al., 1990, “DNA polymorphisms amplified by arbitrary primers are useful as genetic markers”, Nucleic Acids Res. 18(22):6531-5). Using a variety of oligonucleotide primers, alone or in combination, RAPD analysis of Sleeping Beauty, Chester, and Olallie yielded DNA fragment patterns that uniquely distinguish each of these genetically distinct genotypes. 

We claim:
 1. A new and distinctive cultivar of blackberry plant, substantially as shown and described. 